Bully
by Dlbn
Summary: Yuiko doesn't know why they pick on her so. An inside look into Yuiko's mind after a day of bullying.


Dlbn: Hey there everyone! Time for another Loveless fic from Dlbn!

Nbld: They can see that, smart one, you don't have to tell them.

Dlbn: Shut up!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Loveless or any characters associated with it. They all belong to Yun Kouga. I also do NOT own the song "Bully" by Shinedown. That, quite obviously, belongs to Shinedown. I make NO money off of use of Loveless, use of the song, or the writing of this here fanfic. I merely do it for fun.

Dedication: As a recent victim of cyber-bullying, myself, I dedicate this fic here to anyone and everyone around the world having bullying problems; whether it be online, at school, at home, or anywhere else they find themselves spending their time. We all reserve the right to live without harassment and/or fear of harassment. This is for all the unsung victims out there, the victims willing to take a stand, and for everyone who chooses NOT to bully another person and/or assist a bullying victim. No one should have to fight alone.

000

_It's 8 A.M.  
This hell I'm in  
Seems I've crossed the line again  
For being nothing more than who I am_

As the school bell rang at 8 am on Monday morning, Yuiko nervously twisted the hair in one of her pigtails as she sat at her desk. Ritsuka-kun wasn't there yet. He wasn't normally late like this. What could be keeping the twelve year old? Ritsuka had quietly admitted to Yuiko that he'd rather be at school then at home, so it wasn't like he was just delaying something he didn't like. The longer Yuiko sat there alone and waited, the more chance her so called 'friends' would begin to harass her. They were late as well, but that was nothing unusual. School didn't start until 8:45, but Yuiko's mother dropped her off early every day. There were a few other students who were dropped off early in the morning, too, but they were nothing against the girls that harassed Yuiko almost every day. Ritsuka-kun, however, would always come to her rescue and put a stop to their antics. At least until Sensei arrived. Yuiko's heart leapt when she heard footsteps coming down the hall, but she frowned as the three girls walked into the room instead of Ritsuka. She plastered a false smile onto her face and waved merrily when they looked in her direction. She saw Ayane, the leader of the group, whisper to the other girls as her eyes fell on something on Yuiko's desk. Yuiko risked a glance to see her pink notebook lying on the table. It was full of school notes and doodles. There was nothing in there that they could use against her, but she was sure they were about to try. Where was Ritsuka-kun?

_So break my bones  
And throw your stones  
We all know that life ain't fair  
But there is more of us  
We're everywhere_

The three girls made their way to Yuiko's desk, smiling mischievously.

"Hi, Yuiko." Greeted Miku, the brunette girl.

"Good morning!" Yuiko piped cheerfully, putting on her façade on again. "How are you guys doing?"

"Great." Nanami, the one with the longest hair, replied in a sing-song voice. "What's that you got there?"

Yuiko looked down at her notebook. "Um…Yuiko's school notebook?" She asked.

"Not that." Nanami corrected. "That."

Ayame reached into Yuiko's bag and pulled out her cat-shaped flip book that had been peeling out of the bag. It had been a gift from Ritsuka-kun a few months ago. It contained English words and Japanese translations for them. He'd said that he knew she liked cute things, so he made a cute one. Apparently, his elder brother Seimei, who had perished two years before, had started Ritsuka using them for exams. Ritsuka had thought that it would help her with English, since she wasn't very good at it yet.

"It's…it's a flip book…to help me with my English…" Yuiko explained.

Ayame flipped through it. "Looks like trash to me…"

"It's not trash!" Yuiko interjected. "Ritsuka-kun made it for me to help me with my English!"

"Ritsuka-kun made it?" Miku chirped. "That explains some things."

"W-What is that supposed to mean?" Yuiko asked, watching helplessly as Ayame held the flipbook like she was about to rip it in half.

"Ritsuka-kun can't _draw_, let alone make something halfway descent."

"So if it's trash, we should just…throw it away." Ayame said.

"Wait, please don't! It was a gift from Ritsuka-kun!"

A loud ripping sound filled the room. Yuiko covered her mouth, horrified, as she spotted the ripped-in-half gift.

"There we go, simple as that." Ayame dropped the halves to the floor.

The three girls laughed as Yuiko got on her hands and knees to pick up the shattered pages. Sadly, the pages weren't held together by golden rings that Ritsuka had put in it when he'd made it. She'd manage to rip right through the holes where the rings were.

_We don't have to take this  
Back against the wall  
We don't have to take this  
We can end it all_

Yuiko shook a little as tears pooled in her eyes. She couldn't let them see her cry. How could they do this to her, every day, and feel no remorse for it? What did Yuiko ever do to them to deserve this kind of treatment? Ritsuka-kun had asked them why they did it, and they said they had no reason for it! That didn't make any sense! You didn't hurt someone for no reason! Oh, where was Ritsuka-kun when she needed him?

"Oh come _on_, Yuiko. Stop sniveling already." Ayame ordered her, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's just pieces of paper with writing. Garbage."

"It's not garbage!" Yuiko snapped, glaring up at them before masking her anger like a good little girl. "It was a gift…"

"A crappy gift." Miku snickered, hiding her mouth behind her hand.

"It wasn't a crappy gift! Ritsuka-kun made it especially for me!"

"Aw, how nice." Nanami sneered. "Now you know what he thinks of you. Nothing."

"Hey, that's not…!"

Before anyone could say anything footsteps entered the room.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" A young male's voice sneered from the doorway.

Yuiko perked up; neko ears twitching at the familiar voice. She smiled softly. "Ritsuka-kun…"

He stood in the doorway, appearing agitated. His ears were flat against his head and his tail was ridged. He had his arms folded over his chest, and his legs spread in a stance that spoke annoyance. A fresh bandaged hid an injury from view on his left cheek. His plum colored eyes narrowed at the three girls.

"Well?" He wondered.

"Just playing with Yuiko." Ayame rolled her eyes as she spoke to him.

His eyes slowly traveled down to the torn pages in her hands. "Just playing?" He wondered.

"Of course." Ayame insisted.

Ritsuka rolled his eyes as he retracted his stance and came closer. He knelt down and picked up some of the pieces that Yuiko hadn't picked up. He put them in her hands. "Here, Yuiko."

"T-Thank you, Ritsuka-kun…"

He nodded and bit his lip. He looked her over before standing back up to face the trio. "How is it playing when something gets ruined?" He asked them. "I don't get it…"

_All you'll ever be  
Is a faded memory of a bully  
Make another joke  
While they hang another rope  
So lonely  
__Push him to the dirt  
'Til the words don't hurt  
Can you hear me?  
No one's gonna cry  
On the very day you die  
You're a bully_

None of the three girls spoke for quite some time. It was Ritsuka that broke the silence; glaring up at him from his kneeling position on the floor.

"I really don't get what's up with the three of you." Ritsuka told them. "I don't see why you do this. What in the world could Yuiko have done to, in your eyes, deserve this kind of treatment?"

Yuiko was wondering that too, though she knew she'd never get the answer. Though, perhaps, that was because the answer was that there _was_ no answer.

"I don't know." Ayame said, shrugging. "I'm just bored."

"You were bored?" Ritsuka wondered, anger creeping into his voice. "There are a ton of other things you could do, you know." He informed. "Like studying or talking instead of bothering Yuiko and ruining her stuff."

Ayame rolled her eyes. "What, Ritsuka-kun, is she your girlfriend or something? Is that why you're defending her so much?"

Ritsuka flushed. "I'm defending her because it's the right thing to do, and because she's my friend." He replied.

"You're blushing." Miku teased.

"Shut up." He ordered, narrowing his eyes. "I'm mad, that's why my face is red."

"I think you like Yuiko and just don't want to admit it." Miku teased again. "Admit it! You like her!"

"Well, she's my friend. Of course I do…"

"I mean that you love her. You love her, you love her, you love her!" Miku went on.

The three of them repeated it, making Ritsuka grow redder. Yuiko's cheeks began to match his.

_Think it through  
You can't undo  
Whenever I see black and blue  
I feel the past  
I share the bruise_

A few minutes of the girls' chanting and others' laughter passed by before finally someone spoke.

"Shut up!" Ritsuka snapped. "That's an order!"

The others stopped and looked at him, confused.

"Uh…I mean…shut up…" He looked away.

"Order?" Ayame wondered. "What in the world are you…?"

"Drop it." Ritsuka ordered.

Before anyone else could speak, Shinonome-sensei walked into the room.

"Good morning everyone!" She greeted, smiling. "Have a seat so we can begin shortly!"

The three girls scowled at Ritsuka and wandered back to their seats. He sat in his at the same time Yuiko sat in hers. Yuiko put the pieces of paper on her desk and put her notebook on top of them so they wouldn't blow away from the open window.

"I'm sorry, Ritsuka-kun." She told him, pressing her hands together and bowing slightly.

"For what?" He wondered, resting his cheek on his hand as he looked at her.

"I should've hid it better." She said. "And now…your gift…"

"Don't worry about it. It can be fixed." He shrugged. "Or I'll make you a new one."

"You…you don't have to do that for me!"

"It's not that big of a deal…they're pretty easy to make…" He replied. "Or I can just fix it. I think Soubi has hole-punch reinforcement things at his place that I can use."

"T-Thank you, Ritsuka-kun…"

"Don't worry about it." He said again.

"Um…can I ask something?"

"Yes?" Curious eyes flickered to her.

"What happened to your cheek?"

Ritsuka didn't answer for a moment. "It's best if you don't know that."

_With everyone  
Who's come and gone  
My head is clear  
My voice is strong  
Now I'm right here to right the wrong_

Once school let out, Yuiko walked with Ritsuka and his adult friend, Soubi, to her house. Yayoi wasn't in class that day, so he didn't join them. They planned to hang out at her place, and Soubi would make dinner, before her parents came home. Then the males would have to get out before they were spotted. Ritsuka she might be able to explain, but not Soubi. He was an earless adult that her parents didn't know, after all. Ritsuka had told Soubi about the broken gift, and the artist had offered to help fix it. What did Yuiko deserve to have such good friends like them?

"I just don't understand it." Ritsuka said. "Why intentionally hurt someone without a reason?"

"I've often wondered that myself." Soubi chuckled, his fingers rubbing over Ritsuka's knuckles.

Ritsuka flexed his fingers inside of Soubi's in response. "I sound like…"

"Don't say it…" Soubi ordered. "You're nothing like him."

Yuiko wondered who they were talking about, but she didn't ask.

"It's not like Yuiko could ever do anything to them to deserve it…"

Yuiko blushed. "R-Ritsuka-kun…" She muttered.

"What?" Ritsuka asked, looking at her. "It's true. The only thing you did was stop being their pack mule. That's no reason to do what they do. They don't even _have_ a reason!"

"A reason is everything." Soubi muttered.

Ritsuka gave him a look, but he was smiling all the same.

_We don't have to take this  
Back against the wall  
We don't have to take this  
We can end it all_

Ritsuka was right, though. Yuiko couldn't think of a single thing she'd done to them. There wasn't a mean-spirited bone in her body, so she knew she hadn't done anything. But day in and day out, they harassed her. Whether it was making fun of her, getting her into trouble in class, or ruining her things, they were always up to something. Sensei had tried to intervene, but all it did was make the girls stop when she was around, and start up again once she was gone. But there was nothing Yuiko could do about it. If she fought back, they'd just play victim and get her into trouble with Sensei. It wasn't like anyone would back her up and say that she hadn't done anything. Well, other then Ritsuka, that was. Sure, Sensei would believe the two of them if they told her about the problem, but her interference hadn't hindered the other girls so far; evident that they'd learned to pick on Yuiko only when Sensei wasn't around. If Sensei had any impact on them, then they would stop altogether. Yuiko didn't understand it. Did they really have no reason? Was this just fun or humorous to them? That wasn't nice. Come to think of it, before Ritsuka-kun had come into the picture, Yuiko hadn't really been aware that they were being mean to her and just using her for their own gain. She had thought that friends were meant to do thing for one another, like carrying each other's bags or lending each other homework to copy before class. She didn't think anything bad of it. But Ritsuka-kun saw different. He said that it was mean; what they were doing to her. He said that they'd shut her out of the group if she didn't go with them anywhere and everywhere they ordered her to go to. He'd been right. As soon as she started spending time with him instead, they slowly began to push her out of the group. None of them had gotten physically violent with her, yet, and she was dreading the day that would come. They would be in seventh grade next year; middle schoolers. Sure, they might not all go to the same middle school because of entrance exams for other schools. However, there was always the chance that they would all go the same middle school again, and that the bullying might escalate. That wasn't to say that it couldn't get physical now when they were still in Elementary school. Yuiko thought that physical stuff would probably wait until the next year. She hoped it would never come at all, but there was always the possibility that, like a wisdom tooth, physical bullying would grow and rear its ugly head where it didn't belong.

_All you'll ever be  
Is a faded memory of a bully  
Make another joke  
While they hang another rope  
So lonely_

_Push him to the dirt  
'Til the words don't hurt  
Can you hear me?  
No one's gonna cry  
On the very day you die  
You're a bully_

Yuiko opened the door to her family's apartment with the key she always wore around her neck. She stepped in and held the door open.

"Come on in!" She told Soubi and Ritsuka. "Sorry about the mess."

Ritsuka and Soubi shared a look that said that they didn't see the supposed mess before entering.

"It looks clean to me." Ritsuka said, taking a seat on the couch as usual.

Yuiko shut the door. "Mommy said it was dirty this morning." She shrugged.

"Its cleaner then my apartment." Soubi informed.

Ritsuka laughed. "That's because you and Kio get paint all over the floor when you're working, and because Yoji and Natsuo don't clean up after themselves." He explained between laughs.

Soubi chuckled as well. "I suppose that's true." He agreed.

Kio was Soubi's best friend. They attended Ato Art College together. Yoji and Natsuo were two of Yuiko and Ritsuka's classmates that lived with them-which Yuiko didn't know before-and failed to come to school often. Ritsuka said they went home to be with their mother for whatever reason, but Yuiko wasn't sure she believed that. Still, though, she took it with a grin and pretended not to care. She didn't want to think that Ritsuka-kun would lie to her, so she pretended that he didn't. Even when he and Soubi got all secretive about things when she was around sometimes. There was some kind of a secret they shared, but Yuiko didn't want to pry. If Ritsuka-kun wanted to tell her, he would. And she could wait until he did.

"You should come over some time, Yuiko." Soubi offered with a smile, before vanishing into the kitchen to make a snack.

"I'd like that, Soubi-san." She smiled and sat with Ritsuka. "Should we work on our homework now?"

"Might as well." Ritsuka shrugged. "We got a lot for math today."

_It's 8 a.m._

_This hell I'm in_

_Your voice is strong_

_Now right the wrong_

Ritsuka-kun and Soubi-san had left Yuiko's house at 5:30; half an hour before Ritsuka's curfew. That had left Yuiko home alone until her mother got home at eight, but that was okay with her. She was used to waiting for that long for her mother; alone. She just finished her homework, watched TV, and got ready for bed. Before bed, however, she had some time to kill. So she took out her journal to write in again. She hadn't done so in a few days, and she was missing it.

_Dear Diary,_

_It's Yuiko again! Sorry I've been gone so long! Today, my old friends started trouble again! They saw my gift from Ritsuka-kun! You know, the one with the English and Japanese translations? To help with my English studies? Anyway, Ayame ripped it in half! The pages spilled _everywhere_ because she ripped right through the holes where the ring went. I picked most of them up, but I missed a few! Then Ritsuka-kun came into class and helped me pick up the rest of them. He's so sweet! He stood up to them for me! He doesn't understand why they do this stuff. What did I ever do to them? Not even _they_ know! Isn't that sad? Don't they _need_ a reason to bully me? I could understand being mean to me if I broke something of theirs, but not just because they can. It's not right! Ritsuka-kun and Soubi-san agree with me! I wonder what it's going to take to get them to stop. I hope they don't start being violent, instead of just ruining my things! I mean, I want them to stop doing that, too, but at least they're not hurting me. Speaking of being hurt, Ritsuka had a fresh bandage on his cheek today! I wonder what happened. He won't tell me. Is someone beating him up, too? Bullying him? Ritsuka-kun's momma is scary. Maybe she did something? No, that's silly. Why would she do something to her son? He probably just got cut doing something. Like scratching an itch with a pair of scissors? No, that was stupid too. Ritsuka-kun would never be so careless, let alone do something stupid like that! There has to be a reason for it. I wonder what it is…._

_Anyway, Diary, Soubi-san and Ritsuka-kun came over after school today! Yayoi-san had to stay home cause he was sick, so he didn't come. Speaking of being sick, I wonder where Yoji-kun and Natsuo-kun are. They haven't been around lately. I know Ritsuka-kun said they were with their momma, but it seems a little…fishy…not that I think Ritsuka-kun is, or would, lie to me or something._

_I can't get what happened today out of my head. They said it was garbage, and that it means that Ritsuka-kun thinks _I'm _garbage too or something. I just can't believe she would rip it in half! It's not like I was doing anything wrong by having it. I was just trying to do better in English. I get low scores in that subject, so there's nothing wrong with a little bit of extra studying, or studying at all, right?_

_But it's all okay, I guess. They can pick on me now if they really have nothing better to do. They can pick on me because I'm too tall, or because my boobs are too big, or because I'm loud and, I admit, a little dumb. It doesn't matter now. Nothing they do now really matters. Because when we're older, things will be different. _I'll _be at the top. They'll be too short and have small chests. They'll feel stupid at a job that they don't understand, or where they only get paid minimal wage. But then I'll be at the same height as everyone else. My boobs will be perfect size. I'll have a job at the top of the chain and be making more money. While they gather as much negative karma as they can by being bullies, I'll stay nice and gather positive karma. In the end, I'll be better off. I'll get nice things and have nice friends. And a nice life, and maybe a nice family with a nice man. It'll be great._

_What they're doing now really doesn't matter, Diary. Because they're insecure and they go after me because of it. They try to make me feel as insecure as they do. But I have great parents, loving friends-Ritsuka-kun, Yayoi-san, Soubi-san- and I always have a lot of fun. They just have each other and their meanness. I'll put up with ti for now. Diary, I really do feel sorry for them. They feel so bad about themselves that they have to do this. Maybe when we're older, they'll learn that they were wrong and come back to me, begging for my forgiveness and friendship. And you know what? Maybe I'll accept it. Because I'm not mean like them. I'm not going to be mean and do mean things. No matter who hurts me. Maybe one day Ritsuka-kun will understand. But for now, he can't possibly imagine…_

_Love,_

_Yuiko_

Yuiko set her pen down and closed her journal. She sighed before setting it back on the shelf for safe keeping. She knew her mom didn't go through her stuff, so it wasn't like she'd need to hide it. Even if she did, there wasn't anything in there for her to be mad about. Other then Soubi and Ritsuka coming over; but that was nothing big.

"Yuiko?" Her mother called. "Dinner!"

"Coming, mommy!" She called back cheerfully.

Yuiko put on a fake smile and exited her room. All you'll ever be

_Is a faded memory of a bully.  
Make another joke  
While they hang another rope  
So lonely.  
Push him to the dirt  
'Til the words don't hurt  
Can you hear me?  
No one's gonna cry  
On the very day you die  
You're a bully_

One day, Ayame and the others would realize their mistakes. They would repent their actions and grow to be better people. And meanwhile, Yuiko would take all their abuse with a smile on her face. As long as she had great friends and a loving family. She didn't need false friends. Or their approval.


End file.
